Guwahati students question freedom, safety, and dissent on I-Day

As India prepares to celebrate its 80th Independence Day, students in Guwahati are using the occasion to question whether political freedom in 1947 has translated into true liberty today, assamtribune.com reports. Cotton University student Tanmoy Baruah said the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign raises a bigger question: whether citizens truly have equal rights, dignity and freedom of speech. He asserted that people are jailed for speaking against the government and that the freedom to dissent is disappearing.

Fellow student Mohammad Galib Raja argued that freedom remains incomplete while women continue to face violence and discrimination. Ragini Goswami of Handique Girls’ College said safety is still not where it should be. She also questioned why the Prime Minister did not visit Assam during severe floods but comes during elections. Students said leaders still divide people on religion, and called for unity as in the freedom movement.